Well, we were not the only ones who stood out in the rain this morning on July 22, 2009 in China waiting for the total solar eclipse. Yep, everyone in Shanghai was pretty excited about six minutes of darkness between 9:36 am and 9:41 am.  For most of us rain and cloud cover meant that we mainly experienced six minutes of eerie, apocalyptic darkness and billowing clouds...

Watching from the 6th floor rooftop of the Ctrip building, I was sipping my morning coffee and feeling rather creeped out by the morning blackness. I had no real expectations, but I had my nerdy eclipse glasses all prepped and didn't end up using them in the end.

My French photographer friend Mathias Guillin was stationed on the terrace of Shanghai's M on the Bund with his awesome camera lenses which picked up a whole lot more than my eyes could see.

Thanks to Mathias for these lovely photos which will also be featured on Shanghaiist this afternoon. Enjoy!

[Click on photos to enlarge]

1. Taken from the terrace of Shanghai's M on the Bund @ 8:53 am, July 22, 2009

2. Well-equipped and ready: 9:13 am.

3. Stunned by the show @ 9:15 am...(okay, this is French sense of humor)...

4. The sky is beginning to darken over Shanghai's Bund at 9:35am.

5. Darkness over the Bund at 9:37 am, July 22, 2009.

All images used with permission from photographer Mathias Guillin.

For more of Mathias' work check out his Picasa profiles here and here.